


Pride Month Mini-Fics

by cflynnrun



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), Warehouse 13, Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Big Sister Alex Danvers, Domestic Fluff, F/F, First Kiss, Friendship, Romantic Gestures, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, dog person, pride prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 17,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cflynnrun/pseuds/cflynnrun
Summary: A collection of Mini-fics for queer ships to celebrate pride!





	1. First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to NerdsbianHokie, who posted the link to the a Pride Month Prompt list on Tumblr. I doubt I'll do anywhere near as good a job, but I want to try. Going to do my best to post every day, but they might get a bit jumbled. Ships are guaranteed to switch based on prompts. 
> 
> AvaLance AU

         Ava never backed down from a challenge. Especially when it came from a douchey frat boy trying to show off for his dumbass friends. It’s not that she hated frat boys; she had enough friends in this frat to be a regular at their party. What she hated was the bravado and condescending, misogynistic mindset this particular guy wore like a Pride flag. The girl he was with kept rolling her eyes and pulling away when he tried to throw his arm around her. She was shooting daggers with her eyes, but Ava could officially add oblivious to his list of faults. She really needed to ask Doug why they kept this ass wipe around. It was probably to bank roll their beer. They’d never deal with this bullshit if he wasn’t useful.

         In fact, Ben kept trying to pull Douchey McGee away; trying to get him to let it go. But Ava had beat him at beer pong and his ego couldn’t handle it. Now he was challenging her to a round of flip cup, and there was no way she was saying no.

           “You sure you want to do this babe?”

         Ava tried to throw as much sarcasm into her reply, even though she knew he’d probably miss it. “Such a charmer.”

         Douchey’s ‘bro’ was trying to talk him out of it, but he pressed on anyways. “So the stakes clear? Whoever looses goes streaking to the statue and back?”

           “On one condition. I pick my team.”

           “Haha. I guess if you’re afraid of who I’ll put on your team…”

           “It’s not fear.” She started arranging the cups along the table, ignoring his scoff. When the cups were laid out, she finally looked up and met his gaze with as much intensity as she could. “You’re used to underestimating women and ‘nerds’ “ (she made sure to add the air quotes) “don’t try to cover your ass now!” She said holding up her hand to silence his protests.

         She looked around the room at the people gathered to watch. “I’ll take the blonde next to you that obviously doesn’t want you touching her… and the so called ‘history super nerd’ that you shoved into a wall earlier… and the woman from my English Lit class that threatened to rip your balls off when you grabbed her ass… and the tall guy that you copy off of in Physics.”

         She had been pointing at people as she saw them; people she knew he’d fucked with before. She knew nothing about any of them, but she could tell they wanted to kick his ass just as much as she did – it was in their eyes.

           “So… three _girls_ , oh. My bad. _Two girls_ and the nerds. That’s your dream team? It’s on.”

         He started rounding up his brothers into an awkward huddle next to the tables. Ava didn’t bother.

           “We all hate this fucker. So let’s make him pay.” She turned to look at the huddle behind her before adding, “If we do this right, we’ll be Legends.”

         The blonde finally spoke up. “Is that what this is? A chance to show off? Something to brag about at future parties?”

         Ava looked at her, really looked at her for a moment. She hadn’t noticed how fierce her eyes were, or how fierce the look in her eyes was.

           “There aren’t many things in this world I hate. I pride myself on being fairly open minded and all. But I _hate_ people that think anyone that isn’t like them is worth less than them; or men that only see women as something to stick their dick in; or people that take advantage of nice people, because being nice is somehow a weakness.” She had been looking around at her new team mates as she was talking, but she met the blonde’s eyes as she finished: “I hate bullies. And this bully needs to be knocked down a peg or two.”

           “Fuck it! I’m in!”

         Both women looked at the tall, lanky guy that was boasting a look that screamed ‘overeager’. He seemed to realize that his reaction was not…typical, because he started to ramble: “Maybe we should introduce ourselves since we’re about to go to war together! I’m Ray and this big guy with the incredible muscles is Nate. We had, like, 5 classes together as freshman, but have _very_ different interests – “

           “Dude. We talked about this. You’ll scare off the girls.”

           “I’m gay. So, not gonna happen. Also going to take more than that to scare me off.” Nate looked at Ava questioningly. “Wait until you meet Gary…”

         She met the blonde’s eyes once more before turning towards the table. The way the blonde had looked at her, had her a little out of sorts. It would have looked incongruous on anyone else; a half smile, half pout combined with a head tilt and one raised eyebrow. Ava missed the first half of the rules thinking about that look, but she quickly got her head back in the game.

         The game went quickly. Nate powered the beer like it was nothing. Ray struggled, eating up the little lead Nate had earned them. The blonde was done with the beer before the guy across from her had finished half of his. It should have been an easy win for Ava, but the blonde’s cocky smirk froze her in her spot. When she licked the extra beer off her lips, Ava’s brain melted. She only snapped out of it when Nate hit her with a perfectly thrown cup to the head. She turned to her beer only to see Douchey pick up his own drink, smirking at her.

         Ava’s never chugged anything so fast in her life. She’s also never felt so sick. But Nate and Ray are clapping her on the back and the room is cheering. They start pushing Douchey towards the goal, changing for him to strip. But Ava is frozen in place. The blonde is staring at her with a curious look and a small smile.

           “I’m Sara by the way.”

         Ava reaches out to shake the offered hand, but holds on just long enough to be awkaard. She clears her throat and manages to croak out, “Ava.”

           “Yeah. I gathered from the chanting.”  
           “What?” Ava’s voice was low and gravely and she couldn’t seem to form a proper sentence.

           “When we won? Everyone was chanting ‘Ava, Ava, Ava’…”

           “Oh. Right. I guess I didn’t notice.”

           “Something distract you?” Sara’s tone was strangely flirty, but Ava had misread cues before.

           “Um….”

           “You’re cute when you’re flustered.” Sara started for the door. “Let’s go watch that fucker streak across campus.”

         Ava stood rooted to her place as Sara walked towards the door. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, holding out her hand, “Coming?”

           “Not yet!” Fuck. Not what she meant to say. Now she was going to scare her away!

         But Sara threw her head back and laughed. She grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her out the door.

           “I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.” She said with a wink.

         Ava stopped. When Sara pulled at her hand, trying to get her to keep walking, Ava just pulled back. Sara stopped and turned to face her, as Ava took a step forward. She tentatively reached her hand out to cup Sara’s face.

           “I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

           “Me neither.” Sara would never normally admit it, but despite her confident exterior, she was thrown by Ava. “Are you going to kiss me, or what?”

         Something between a laugh and a sigh escaped Ava’s mouth as she smiled and shook her head. She leaned in and brushed her nose against Sara’s, not quite letting their lips touch. She had planned on going slowly, making sure Sara really wanted this. But Sara never followed plans, or at least not anyone else’s plans. She grabbed the back of Ava’s neck and pulled until their lips met. Ava chuckled into the kiss, as Sara pulled away again. They both pulled apart with smiles on their faces.

         “We should go…see… all that.” Sara said, gesturing the direction the crowd had walked. “You should enjoy your win.”

         Ava smiled shyly. “I’d rather be here. With you.”

         Sara smiled so wide, it seemed to light up her entire face. She nearly threw herself at Ava, who just laughed and kissed her. She certainly won alright.


	2. Pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AvaLance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Pride-Day-Two! Part of this prompt challenge for me is about getting better at writing something and then just posting it without agonizing over word choice. So I'm only allowed one read through before I post. If there are any typos, let me know, but I just want to try and get these out as quickly as I can so hopefully I don't end up behind.

"What about this one?"

          "Too much hair."

"But it's so cute! Look at those little eyes."

          "Sara. I'm not getting a chinchilla.” Normally Ava would melt under Sara’s puppy eyes, but this was the 12th animal they’d looked at and the whole process was getting old. She sighed as Sara walked down to peek into the next window. When she’d let Sara pull her into the rescue shelter, she’d thought it would be fun to look at all the cute animals. But Sara seemed determined to convince Ava to take one home.

          “Sara. I don’t have time for a pet! I don’t want a pet. You get a pet!” Ava was absolutely certain that Sara wasn’t listening. She walked closer and waved her hand in front of Sara’s face. “Saaaaraaaa….”

“He’s perfect Aves. Look how sweet he is.” Ava finally looked in the kennel Sara was standing next to. Inside, was a yellow lab with a thick bandage around one leg. Sara finally tore her gaze away to look up at Ava. “He looks so lonely.”

          “Sara. He’s a dog. He’s fine.”

“What? How can you say that? Dogs have feelings too!” The expression on Sara’s face would be almost comical if her comment hadn’t hit Ava a little too close to home.

          “Yeah, well…I wouldn’t know, would I?” She walked away to go peek in the cage holding the birds.

Sara walked over and grabbed Ava’s hand. “What am I missing?”

          “I’ve never had a pet. Don’t even have a fake memory of a pet. Guess they never wanted me to get attached to anything.”

          She tried to pull away from Sara, but Sara pulled harder and pulled her in for a hug. She tensed for a second, before sinking into the hug. She wrapped her arms around Sara, squeezed tight for just a second, before pulling away. Sara didn’t try to stop her as she walked away, but Ava should have known that meant trouble.

“Excuse me! Excuse me sir! We have some questions about this handsome man.”

          Ava whipped around to see Sara flagging down a volunteer.

“Oh! You mean Chet. He’s a sweet guy. Retired service dog. Hurt his paw and had to stop working. We’ve had a lot of interest in him lately.”

          “But no one’s taken him, so what’s his problem.” Ava couldn’t help but throw back.

“Ava!” Sara whisper/shouted at her with a backhanded smack on the arm.

          The volunteer just laughed. “Actually, it’s just that he’s old. Nearly 7. Life expectancy for a Lab is generally 8-12 years, so he’s quite the old man.” Sara and he volunteer were rubbing Chet, who looked like he had died and gone to heaven from all the attention.

          “We also try to place former service dogs with owners that can take the dog with them to work. This guy used to sniff out weapons. He was used to being around big groups of people, lots of noise. He’s been kind of depressed since he injured his paw and ended up here.”

“Ava, he’s perfect! You could bring him to work with you!”

          “Sara!” Now it was Ava’s turn to smack Sara.

“I’m sorry for her,” Sara said to the volunteer, “she’s never had a dog before.”

          “Sara. My job is too dangerous to bring a dog with me and I can’t just leave him home all day. You take him if you love him so much.” Ava couldn’t bring herself to say it, but she had already fallen a little in love with Chet. She’d hate to leave him behind, but she didn’t want to be selfish.

Sara started explaining their lives to the volunteer. “She works for the FBI, actually runs her own unit, and I work on a ship. Not really 9-5 jobs.”

          “Chet would love to go back to work. You could take him to work with you at the FBI and just leave him behind for the dangerous missions.”

“Ava. It would be perfect!” Those damn puppy eyes. From all three of them. Not fair.

          She weakly protested, “I can’t just bring a dog – “

“You’re the boss! You totally can if you want to.”

          Ava frantically looked back and forth between Sara and the volunteer, trying to figure out if she was being Punk'd. Chet's deep 'woof' broke her out of her silence. "I don't have any of the stuff you need for a dog."

          The smiles on Sara and the volunteer's faces told Ava that she had accidentally agreed to adopt the dog.

"Well, you wouldn't get to take him today. The paperwork usually takes about a week, longer if we can't get ahold of your references right away."

          "References?" Ava's face was beyond panicked, but no one seemed to notice. Sara and the volunteer were already talking details and paperwork. Ava was on the edge of a panic attack when she felt something push her hand. She looked down and saw Chet, sitting by her side, nosing at her hand. She sighed and pet his head twice. But when her hand went still, he leaned into her and tapped her hand again. Without thinking this time, she started rubbing his head and ears. The weight of him leaning against her side and the repetition of the petting motion calmed her. Normally a panic attack like that would have taken a good 30 minutes to fully recover from, but in the 5 minutes Sara was gone, Ava was already feeling better.

 

Sara heard Ava before she saw her.

          "Don't think that just because I'm petting you, that we're friends. I hardly know you, and I'm not even sure I like dogs. So if we're going to do this, and let's face it, when have I ever been able to say no to Sara? But if we're going to do this, I'm the boss. I have rules and I like rules, and Sara may not follow them, but you will or I'm leaving you on the Waverider."

          Ava was down on one knee, scratching behind Chet's ears as she laid down the law. It was probably the cutest thing she'd ever seen Ava do, but she wasn't going to ruin this - tease her about it, even though she was dying to. So instead, she walked over and stood behind Ava; leaning into her back, arms around her shoulders. 

          "You sure you're ok with this?"

          Ava turned back and smiled. "I think it's time to make new memories." She turned back to Chet, rubbing both ears and slipping into her knew-found 'Good Dog' voice: "Besides. It's about time  _one_ of The Legends follows the rules."

 


	3. Affirmations - AgentCanary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex needs to escape and she needs hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Sara and Alex together can be quite controversial, but I loved their story in the cross over. Hopefully, their conversation in here will help explain why a bit. I know everyone has their 'endgame' ship, but what about the ships along the way?

           Alex didn't know why she was here. No, that's not true. She knew exactly why she was here: Sara was addicting. And, no, it wasn't her body (although that was a bit addicting too), Sara understood in a way that felt remarkably normal. She couldn't handle anymore pity or advice or... Kara. And her Earth, her job, was haunted with memories of Maggie. When she had packed her bag, she hadn't planned on using Cicso’s device; she had her jacket on and helmet in hand. But if she got on her bike and ran, drove until she couldn't feel Maggie's pull anymore, she'd end up falling down another deep rabbit hole of booze and, probably, women. So without thinking about the consequences, she took a different, hopefully, healthier way out. Yeah, there'd still be booze and a woman, but at least this time, there'd be someone there to pull her out.

 

           Sara had obviously just returned from a mission. The golden dress with a plunging neckline told Alex it had been glamorous, but the staff in her hands told Alex that something probably went wrong. (The legends did have a reputation...)

 

           Alex stepped out of the portal and disarmed Rory before anyone else had a chance to react. Nate's hand was on his totem and Sara had turned her body towards the disturbance, staff at the ready, but it was too late: Alex was already setting her bag down and testing the feel of her new gun. "Think I might keep this. You have your Totem now anyways." Alex was looking at Sara, but kept speaking to Rory. “Sorry about arm.”

           Alex and Sara stood there looking at each other across the bridge, Alex with a confident smirk and Sara with a soft, questioning smile. The rest of the Legends stood awkwardly looking around until Zari finally spoke up, breaking the silence. “So this is awkward and I don’t want to be here anymore, so I’m gonna…go…” She finished with some awkward finger pointing, rolling her eyes at Nate’s obvious desire to stay and listen, before pushing him out of the room.

 

           “I know you want to keep the gun, but you might make Rory cry, so I’m going to have to get that from you before you leave.”

           “Already trying to get me to leave?” Alex asked with a playful smirk. “I thought we had a lot of fun the last time we were together!”

          “Right up until you snuck out of my bed the next morning, or, tried at least.”

           Alex was thankful that they were able to naturally slip back to their flirty banter; she was afraid it would end up awkward. Because of her, not Sara.

           “Well…” Alex started as she moved a bit closer. “I’m not here to steal Rory’s toy or fall in to your bed again, as fun as that was…”

           Sara’s smile was sinful as she replied, “It was a hell of a night…” She held eye contact until Alex, bashfully looked away, then leaned down to take off her heels. Alex hesitated, but Sara seemed content giving her the time she needed to get her thoughts together.

           “I’m not really sure why I’m here.” She picked up Sara’s staff, spinning it around in her hands. “I felt the overpowering need to run, but that’s never worked out well for me before.” Sara looked up at this, with a question in her eyes.

             “I usually end up lost in a whirlwind of booze, men and bad decisions – none of which make me feel any better.”

             “Well, we both know why the men never helped.” Sara’s smirk had Alex blushing. “Come do me.”

           Alex froze, eyes wide. Sara just turned around, as if she hadn’t heard her own words, and pulled her hair over one shoulder.

             “Uhhhh…”

“Please?”

           The please seemed to restart Alex’s brain. She walked over and unzipped her, despite the gay panic that was consuming her body. Sara just stepped out of her dress and slung it over one arm as she used the other to pick up her heels. She started walking out of the room, before calling over her shoulder, “coming?”

 

           Alex hesitantly caught up to Sara, still carrying her staff. “This isn’t why I’m here…”

           Sara just laughed and said, “I know. Believe it or not, I’m not trying to seduce you. This dress is just the worst. I must have done something to piss Gideon off, because this is the itchiest material I’ve ever worn. It’s been going on for weeks.” She led Alex to the fabrication room. “Gideon. What ever I did, I’m sorry! You didn’t have to make my dress itchy, you could have just told me you were angry.”

           Alex was a bit lost until she heard a robotic voice reply: “I’m not angry Captain Lance. I’m hurt. You went on a dangerous mission and left your best asset behind!”

           “It wasn’t supposed to be a mission. Just a wedding!”

           Alex, unhelpfully, tried to step in. “We didn’t know Nazis would be there – it was just supposed to be a party.”

           Sara’s eyes went wide and tried to signal Alex to stop, but it was too late. Gideon was now entering angry.

           “ _She_ was part of the mission? Was everyone _but_ me involved?”

           There was a reason Alex was still hopelessly single, and it became completely obvious as she tried to help. “No. I wasn’t there for the mission, I was just there because my sister had just broken up with her boyfriend and she had RSVP’d a plus one and she dragged me along to get me out of my own post break-up funk.”

           “So this… _girl_ and _her sister_ were there? Of course you didn’t need me.” The AI’s sarcasm could use some work.

           Alex looked like she was going to interject again, but Sara grabbed her arm, silencing her.

           “Gideon. Alex is a federal agent for a top-secret branch of the government on _her_ Earth, tasked with protecting and policing their alien population. And _her sister_ is Supergirl and one of said aliens. But even with all of that badass in one family, I still would have rather had you there instead.” Sara stopped talking at the ceiling and looked at Alex, “no offense, but if you knew Gideon…”

           “None taken. If I had a ship this smart as my back up, I’d say the same thing.”

           Apparently that was the right thing to say, because a very nice bottle of scotch appeared in the fabricator. When Alex gasped with surprise and joy, two highball glasses appeared with whiskey stones in the shape of a gun.

           “That’s it. I’m in love with Gideon!”

           “Too bad.” Sara replied, sticking her tongue out. She grabbed the bottle and started walking down the hall. Alex quickly grabbed the glasses and jogged after her.

 

           “Don’t you want some clothes? Sara? You’re still nearly naked…”

           Sara just swung her hips a little more as she walked, smirking over her shoulder as Alex nearly tripped over her own feet. Alex’s eyes were firmly glued to Sara’s ass, but Sara didn’t mind in the slightest; she’d been enjoying the view of Alex’s muscles, after she took off her jacket in the fabrication room. It was just a thermal Henley, but it pulled tight across Alex’s shoulders and arms, hinting at the muscle underneath. Sara couldn’t decide if knowing what was under the shirt made the view better or worse…

 

           Sara led them both to the gym, setting the scotch down on the bench, just inside the door. “One second.” She said before heading back out the door. Alex let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and plopped down next to the scotch. She paused for a second, before quickly pouring herself a shot. It went down far too easily for it to be safe. “Thanks Gideon.” She whispered, feeling silly. “You’re quite welcome, Agent.” Gideon whispered back. Alex chuckled and shook her head; she was talking to a computer.

           Sara appeared around the corner in a pair of joggers and a sports bra, throwing the same at Alex as she picked up the bottle. “Get changed.”

           Alex looked around. “Where?”

Sara just quirked an eyebrow in reply.

           “What?” Alex asked, her eyes wide.

           “Don’t go all modest on me now Danvers! I’ve already seen your birthmark.” Sara smirked at Alex’s blush, but turned towards the wall anyways. She heard the shuffle of clothes, but despite how much she wanted to turn around, she waited until Alex called out that she was done. When she turned back around, Alex was in the joggers, with her Henley still on. Sara smirked at her modesty as she waved Alex over to the Salmon Ladder.

           “It’s going to be awfully hard to climb this with a shirt on, but what ever makes you comfortable.” Sara relished in Alex’s adorably panicked face. She knew Alex would never back down from a challenge, but could tell she’d never done it before. “Here,” she said holding her towel out for Alex to take. “Let me show you.”

 

           The next ten minutes were spent trying to teach Alex how to climb the ladder. She was more than physically able, but she wasn’t successful until Gideon chimed in with a physics lesson. Two minutes under Gideon’s direction and Alex had reached the top.

           “You’re such a nerd.” Sara bumped Alex as they walked back towards the scotch. They had both climbed up and down several times at this point, their competitiveness coming out as they timed each other.

 

           Sara grabbed the scotch and led Alex to a different room. The walls seemed to be one big computer screen.

             “Hey Gideon? Can you show us the view from the CN tower at night? I’ve missed the city.” She sat down on the floor as the walls slowly changed from bright white, to the bright lights of Toronto against the dark background of the night sky. The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes, passing the bottle.

           “So why here Alex?”

           Alex swirled the liquid in her glass for a moment, before taking a big drink.

           “Every place, every person, every _thing_ back home reminds me of Maggie. Everywhere I go, she’s there. And I can’t escape it; I can’t escape her. And the people in my life are all hurting too. We shared so many of the same friends…” Sara kept watching the image in front of her, trying to give Alex time.

           “I needed to get out of there, but I’ve made so much progress these last few years.” She turned towards Sara and hesitated. Sara reached forward and took her hand, gently rubbing her thumb across the back of Alex’s hand.

           “Before the DEO, before Supergirl…I was a mess. I drank too much. Got lost in dancing and drinking and men… I was trying so hard to escape, that I almost escaped the good parts of my life too…. I don’t want to do that again, don’t want to be that girl again, but I couldn’t stay there anymore. I just felt like I was suffocating!”

           “So you came here.”

           “The night we met, I was started down that path again, but talking with you…it all felt manageable again, you know?”

           “So you were serious when you said you weren’t here to fuck.”

           Alex’s serious expression quickly turned into a smile and full out laugh at Sara’s comment.

             “I’m fairly certain that a night with you would solve most of the world’s problems, but I was talking about our conversation in the bunker.”

           Sara could see the hunger in Alex’s eyes, and knew it was reflected in her own, but she let Alex keep speaking.

           “I think…I think that I’ve moved on more than I thought I would, but…”

           “But…”

           “But now I feel guilty.” Alex stood up quickly and started pacing. “I feel guilty because I’m trying to move on and I feel guilty for sleeping with you only a couple of weeks after I broke _my engagement!_ Ugh! Am I a horrible person?”

           The pleading in Alex’s eyes kept Sara from laughing. She grabbed Alex’s hands and pulled her closer, waiting until she looked up. “You are _not_ a horrible person. Society paints sex as one of two things: something meant to be shared only between people in love or something shameful and dirty between strangers. But that’s far too simple. Sex and Love are more complicated than that.”

           Sara let go of Alex’s hands and stepped back.

             “Everyone around me is stuck on the idea that all relationships should have ‘marriage’ as their endgame. But that’s a lot of pressure to put on a person or a relationship. Some of my best and healthiest relationships were never headed towards marriage, but that doesn’t make them any less meaningful. Sometimes, you get two people in the same place, same time, that enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes that’s all it is.”

           Sara stepped back towards Alex, grabbing her hands again. “Sometimes you get two people, stuck in the quicksand that is unrequited love, trying to pull each other out… There’s a reason that people say ‘that the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else’. It’s not the sex that does it. It’s taking a step towards letting someone else inside your heart.”

           Alex didn’t or couldn’t respond, but she met Sara’s eyes and let out a wavering breath. Sara took that as a sign to continue.

          “Don’t feel guilty for trying to move on. There are some things a relationship just can’t surpass. And that sucks, but it’s not the end.”

           Sara moved to stand next to Alex, wrapping her arm around Alex’s lower back and leaning into her shoulder. “We’re both in the same kind of boat Alex… I was telling you the truth about Nyssa. We once meant a lot to each other, but we were never meant to be endgame.” Sara paused for a bit. “I think I needed… _us_ just as much as you did. Not because I was pining over Nyssa, but because I was afraid that I couldn’t feel any more. Or maybe afraid that something terrible would happen if I did, I don’t know.”

           Neither woman liked feeling vulnerable, but their conversation had left them both open and raw. Any other time, or person, and they both would have run already. But there was something comforting in their mutual vulnerability, and neither was ready to break it.

 

           “I know you didn’t come on the ship to revisit that night, but…”

          Alex laughed. “So, you’re telling me you want to cuddle…”

           “I’ll kill you if you tell anyone – “

           “What? That you cuddle like a koala post sex? Or that you told me that sometimes you miss being held more than you miss the sex?”

           Sara just smacked her arm. “Never mind. You can sleep in here.”

           Alex froze. “You want me to stay?”

           “That’s why you brought a bag, right? We can – “ Sara looked back and forth before whispering, “cuddle.” Alex erupted in loud laughter and dodged Sara’s lazy backhand. She laughed along, as they picked up their stuff. She hip checked Alex lightly into the doorframe, only to have to run down the hall as Alex started chasing her. Alex caught up to her at the door, picking Sara up, throwing her over the shoulder without a bag. Sara laughed and smacked Alex’s back as she swung them around a couple of times. Sara was finally able to grab the door and stop their spinning long enough to open the door.

 

           Two heads popped out of the door next to Sara’s.          

           “How loud would you say your speakers can get Nate?”

           “Not loud enough Zari.”

They looked at each other. “Amaya’s room!” They said in tandem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm totally on board with AvaLance long term, but why can't Sara and Alex have a little fun along the way? I plan on coming back to this story/timeline at least once more during this prompt challenge.


	4. Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, sisters are the worst.

          “Hey! What are you –“

           “Where’s my flannel? The red and blue one. That  _you_  told me you loved. Brought out the color of my eyes.” Alex pushed past her sister, heading to exactly where she knew she’d find her shirt.

           “I don’t know what you’re talking – “

           “It’s getting ridiculous.” Alex stopped abruptly, causing her sister to crash into her. “Just because you hopped on the Queer Train, doesn’t mean you can steal all my flannels.”

          Kara just flashed her a guilty smile as she turned and walked the rest of the way to Kara’s closet.

 

           “What the?! Kara!!” Kara’s closet now consisted of two separate parts: the part where her clothes were and the part where Alex’s close were.

          “There are: 1, 2, 3… 6! 6 of my button-ups, Kara! And my Raptors’ jersey.” She angrily turned to face her sister, “You know how long it took me to find that.”

          She started pulling clothes out of Kara’s closet: 6 button-ups, 1 basketball jersey, 1 Mia Hamm USA soccer jersey, her USA hockey jersey, 3 thermals, 4 hoodies and 2 snapbacks. She threw it all on Kara’s bed and started pulling basketball shorts and joggers out of her drawers. Kara stood, quietly folding the clothes Alex was throwing on the bed.

          “That’s it! I’m officially writing my name on my clothes again.”

          Kara tried to give her best “I’m sorry – don’t kill me – I’m too cute to die” look, hoping it would make it better. But Alex stood there in her best “I’m a badass secret agent – you’re going to have to do better than that to crack me” pose. Kara threw her hands up in the air and sighed. But Alex didn’t break, she just tilted her head a little and raised her eyebrows higher, waiting for Kara to talk.

 

          “But Alex! Your closet is full of all the good stuff! And Lena likes when I’m a little androgynous or sporty and I like when she likes what I’m wearing because I always like what she’s wearing but I don’t know how to buy any of that stuff and Lena once said she thought you were pretty hot with the soft butch, androgynous thing so I figured that if I wore your stuff then she’d think I was hot too –“

          “Lena thinks I’m hot?” Alex asked with a smirk.

          Kara threw a hoodie at her sister (at an appropriate strength for a human). “That’s what you got from all that?”

          Alex laughs at Kara, trying to pacify her. “No. I got that you’re trying to impress Lena but you’re a hopeless little Baby Bi and don’t know what to do with yourself.”

          Kara just huffs like a toddler and flings herself backwards onto her bed. “Uggh!!”

          “You know? It feels good not to be the Baby Gay anymore!” Alex sat down on the bed next to her sister.

          “Alex!!” Kara groaned and rolled over, laying her head on Alex’s lap. “You’ve got to help me.”

          “As much as I should torture you for stealing all my clothes, I’m going to lay it all out for you.” Kara eagerly rolled over and sat on her knees looking at her sister with her puppy dog eyes on full blast. Alex rolled her eyes and sighed. “Lena has had a crush on you since the moment you guys met. She doesn’t care what you’re wearing.”

          “No she hasn’t. She probably only likes me as a friend.” Kara flopped herself back down on the bed. Alex couldn’t help but laugh.

           “Kara. She filled your office with flowers. And feeds you. Regularly. She’s been trying to date you for ages, you’re just late to the party.”

          Kara rolled over to look at her sister, first looking really confused and then completely distrustful. “Are you just saying this to get back at me for stealing your clothes?”

          Alex grabbed Kara’s hands and looked her square in the eyes. “You don’t joke about these kinds of things.” Her face went soft as she waited for Kara to look at her. Kara sat up and pouted at her sister, causing Alex to chuckle.

          “Lena is completely in love with you. And you, her. She’s just been waiting for you to figure it out. Frankly, it’s been painful to watch. Me helping you right now actually forfeits the bet I made with James. I’m willingly buying that jerk a bottle of whiskey he probably can’t even appreciate because you’re my sister and I love you. So I’m telling you: Put on your most “Kara-y” outfit you own, grab a bouquet of lilies and go ask her out.”

          “You think?”

          “I know.”

          Kara squeezed Alex a little harder than she probably should have before using her super speed to change into a dark blue, short-sleeved button up, tucked into bright yellow jeans.

           “Ta da!”

          “Button the top button, cuff the sleeves and swap the flats for your Vans.” Kara just looked at Alex, who sighed and continued, “You said she was into the androgynous – athletic type right?” Kara’s eyes went wide and quickly made the changes.

          “Ta da!”

          “Queer as Fuck!” Alex said with a mock salute.

          “Yes!” Kara cheered with a celebratory fist pump. She gave her sister one last hug before speeding out of the room. Alex turned back to the closet.

          “Let’s see what else she stole…

  
  
\--   
Rachel SydowKindergartenSpanger Elementary School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the dynamic between Alex and Kara! Wrote this on my lunch break, so shorter than I usually do, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.


	5. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff. Just... Fluff.

            “Oh man. You fucked up.”

           Wynonna had opened the door to Nicole holding a bouquet of flowers. Nicole obviously hadn’t expected that response. 

            “Huh?”

“Red.” Wynonna tilted her head, looking at her with fake, patronizing pity. “You’ve got flowers. It’s not your anniversary. You fucked up.”

            “How do you know it’s not our anniversary?”

           Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Waverly has it written on the calendar in a giant rainbow heart. Even Doc knows your anniversary.”

           Nicole chuckled. “I’m not here because I messed up Wynonna. And Waverly would never let me get our anniversary wrong.”

           “Then why are you here, Haught?”

           Nicole started to answer, until she noticed Waverly standing at the top of the stairs. Wynonna watched her face light up and get that dopey, love-struck look that means Waverly’s nearby. Nicole answered Wynonna’s question, but she never took her eyes off Waverly.

           “My Grandpop told me that it’s the little gestures that tell a girl you love her. Like bringing flowers just because it’s Tuesday and you want to see her smile.” She stepped past Wynonna and handed the flowers to Waverly, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. 

            “I saw these when I was getting a sandwich from the grocery and thought of you. I know you love lilies.”

           “They’re beautiful Nicole!”

           Wynonna just made a gagging noise and walked into the kitchen. “You didn’t have to bring me flowers, you know.”

           “I know. But I wanted to. It always makes you smile.” By this point, Nicole was blushing. Waverly loved Bashful Nicole; the way she scuffed her toes, hands in her pockets, looking up through those long eyelashes… Bashful Nicole left Waverly somewhere between Bashful and…  _ ready to go. _ Apparently it was the later written on her face, because Waverly could see Nicole’s breath catch and waver. 

           “I, uh….” Nicole could hardly think when Waverly was looking at her like that. She coughed, clearing her throat. She shakily took a step back and scuffed her toes across the floor again. “I have to get back to the station.” She looked up at Waverly, catching her eyes. “I just wanted to give you the flowers.” She smiled that half smile Waverly loved so much, stepped forward, placed a chaste kiss on Waverly’s lips and backed away. She gave Waverly one last glance over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

           Waverly stood watching the door, smelling her flowers with the dopiest of smiles. She didn’t even notice Wynonna coming back into the room.

           “Ugh. You two are the worst!”

           Waverly smacked her sister. “Be nice.” She smiled to herself as she walked into the kitchen to put the flowers into water.  Quietly, she added, “I’ve never had anyone bring me flowers just because.”

           Wynonna stepped up and put her arm around her sister’s shoulder, leaning into her side. “If you tell Haughtstuff I said this, I’ll deny it, but… you got you a good one this time.”

           Waverly smiled at her sister. “Yeah I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dad actually taught me this when I was a kid. It's the little things that really count.


	6. Coffee shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee shop crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Danvers' 3X18 outfit.

           “Next!” The barista barked, sighing at the long line. It had been a long day, and she was only 2 hours into her shift. She looked up, expecting another cranky person in business clothes. What she was not expecting was a hoodie tucked under a leather jacket.

             “Oh. Hi.” She said, eyes wide. Standing in front of her was the hottest woman she had ever seen. Tall, with short, dark hair and the most amazing eyes. 

             “Ummm…What – what can I get you?”

            The woman was staring up at the menu, oblivious to the Tara’s infatuation. She looked over at her best friend, opening her eyes wide and fanning herself. Ben just laughed. Normally she would try and urge the customers to hurry, but there wasn’t a line…

 

            Tara scribbled the coffee orders on cups and grabbed her half dozen pastries while she worked the keypad. Alex. While Alex worked the keypad. She started making a ‘gay or not?’ list in her head. Hoodie and leather jacket: very gay. Short, stylish hair cut – longer on one side than the other: gay. Confident walk: not necessarily gay, but… Flirty conversation with Ben at the pick-up station: decidedly not-gay. The amount of time  _she_  spent watching Alex: gayer than a Hayley Kiyoko music video.

            Alex seemed to be waiting for someone, not that she was still watching. She sat at the table across from the counter and watched the door. Tara tried to focus on her work, and not the woman across from her, but it wasn’t going well. Alex was slouched in her chair, long legs spread out in front of her, ankles crossed. She had her arms crossed across her chest and a soft smile on her face. Tara was fairly certain that she was humming along to the music overhead. Alex’s profile was stunning, and the longer she sat there, the calmer she seemed to get. Her angular features were relaxing and her smile was widening. At some point, Alex had shed her hoodie/jacket combo and thrown it over the seat next to her. The tank top she was wearing was stretched tight across the muscles in her back and showed off her arms… Tara was drooling. When “Curious” came on, Alex started singing, and Tara thought she might just die from the sound. Was it possible to die from being too close to someone this attractive?

             _“I’m just curious, is it serious?...Are we just friends? You say you wanted me, but you’re sleeping with him.”_

            A tall, bubbly blonde walked in, silencing Alex’s singing. “Don’t stop. I love that song.”

            Alex just laughed and wrapped her up in a big hug. The blonde grabbed her hands and started dancing and singing along.  _“If you let him touch ya, touch ya, touch ya…”_  

            “Kara. We’re in a coffee shop! You can’t sing and dance in here.” Kara just laughed, swatting at Alex, who was dragging her back to the table. Kara noticed the barista watching them. She winked and said, “Big sisters are the worst.” Laughing as Alex swatted at her again. They both sat down, but kept humming along to the song. Then, in perfect harmony, they sang the last line of the song.  _“I’m just curious. Is it serious?”_

            Tara’s gay little heart about died. And this time, Alex caught her staring. She flashed Tara a bashful, half smile before turning back to her sister.

 

            The sisters hung out for about an hour; talking, laughing, drinking their coffees. Somehow, the giant pile of pastries had disappeared. Before she knew it, they were standing up to leave. Tara had been trying to psych herself up to go talk to them, but the urgency of the situation just made it seem extra terrifying. So she ducked her head and pretended to be really interested in wiping the counters instead. She was so busy staring at the counter, that she didn’t notice someone walking up until there was a shadow looming over her. She looked up, straight into the piercing brown eyes she’d seen before. Alex had her jacket back on, but unzipped. At some point, her tank had ridden up an inch or so, leaving the tiniest gap between tank and skintight jeans. Tara tried not to get lost staring.

            “So Kara, my sister,” Alex gestured over at the blonde. “She seems to think that you’d want to go out with me some time.” She had been all quiet confidence until she finished, then gay panic set in. “I mean. I told her you wouldn’t be interested, why would you, but – “

            “Ok.”

            “Ok?”

            “Ok.”

            Alex just grinned at her, grabbed a pen off the counter, and scribbled a phone number down on her drink sleeve. “So, maybe, call me then?” She said as she handed Tara the drink sleeve.

            “Ok.” Tara responded, with a little more confidence this time. Asking a girl out: SuperGay.

  
  
\--   
Rachel SydowKindergartenSpanger Elementary School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's rough. Wrote it on my phone during my lunch break...


	7. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rumination on Love lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might seem a bit out there, but poetry was my first writing outlet. I love the freedom that comes from free verse and the ambiguity; for a while, writing poetry was the only way I could understand what emotion I was feeling. If you're not a poetry fan, I'm not offended if you skip this - I just wanted to shake it up a bit. And my sleep deprivation is making me a bit angstier than I'd like....

When I look back at my time with you,

I want it to be light:

Memories of Love and Joy,

Of laughter and freedom.

That’s there, among the memories

Of you in my bed,

In my space, in my life.

But the memories are different now;

The laughter feels hollow,

The freedom, like chains,

The joy overshadowed, by loss and pain.

 

I had a plan for us,

Hidden deep in my heart.

I’ll hide it away now.

 

She tells me it’s first love,

Falling for someone new,

That we weren’t actually meant to last.

Like temporary means less pain,

Or first loves are meant to fizzle.

 

There’s a cloud overhead,

A shadow across my heart,

That no number of conquests

Can chase away.

We used to fight together,

But I didn’t fight for you to stay.

The shadow that follows,

May just take me away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses what character wrote this? I have two different characters in mind, but I'm curious who springs to mind. Leave your guesses below. (They're both queer women, if that helps.)


	8. Drawing on skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AvaLance fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure this is entirely true to the prompt...

               Sara knew she should let Ava sleep, but she couldn’t help but touch her. She lived for moment like this. They’d been apart for three or four days now (it’s hard to keep track when you’re traveling through time) and Sara had been counting down to the moment they’d be together again. The sex… fireworks. Always was. But this time right here? It was Sara’s paradise.

               Ava was dozing off, but Sara couldn’t bring herself to close her eyes. She was gently running her hands up and down Ava’s side, drifting to run down her leg every so often. Their hips were pressed together, but Sara has shifted, moving her chest away from Ava’s back. Ava had whimpered and tried to push back against Sara again, but settled when Sara started running her hands across Ava’s body.

               She was tracing Ava’s freckles and scars. Ava thought she was silly, but Sara had created constellations out of the freckles along Ava’s back. More than once, when they were blissed out and spooning like this, Sara had traced the constellations on her back and told her the stories of how they got their names; their heroic feats or cunning acts. She’d named them all after women of course, but not the textbook versions she’d learned about growing up. She’d named them after the Guinevere and Helen that they’d met on their journeys.

               It had become a way for Sara to tell Ava stories of her life, stories about her family and the Arrow clan, without having to face her. It was easier to talk when she didn’t need to look Ava in the eyes. She didn’t have to worry about seeing judgment in Ava’s eyes. She knew Ava didn’t always approve of her choices, but nothing she told her chased her away. Not yet at least. And Ava had told her some of her darkest secrets tracing the stars like that. She’d told her things that Sara was sure was in a file somewhere, but definitely not the whole story. You can’t sum up the weight of her actions in a paragraph on a page. Ava knew her worst – from her side this time.

               Sometimes she could feel Ava recoil at her story. Sara didn’t try to pull her closer, just tried to give her her space. It hurt, but Sara understood. She had spent a long time unable, or maybe unwilling, to feel emotions the way she knew she should. And her actions during that time… Sara would apologize but it wouldn’t help.

               Ava wasn’t a prude, but she definitely got jealous. She took the violent stories well, but she made Sara promise to tell her everything. And Sara knew it was hard for her to know that she was sharing Sara with a long list of men and women. She genuinely wasn’t bothered that she was bisexual or that she had a long list of former bedmates. She just wanted Sara all to her self. But when Sara promised that she was all hers – her only and her last – Ava’s jealousy dissipated. Love does that, Sara thinks.

               Because that’s what this is: Love. Sara loves every inch of Ava, every quirk, every flaw. She loves her more than she knew she could. It wasn’t her first love, but Sara hoped it was her last.

               “Aves! Ava. Wake up. I’ve got another story to tell you.”

               Ava sighed and shifted, sleepily opening her eyes. Sara gently stroked her face, kissing her gently. They both smiled as they pulled apart.

               Ava turned back on her side and nestled back into Sara.

               “So what’s this story?”

               “Have I ever told you the story about how we got engaged?”


	9. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic AgentReign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This makes more sense if you've seen the song, but it's not required to understand everything.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUk1nPqfJ3I

           Alex wasn’t sure how she’d gotten here. She was sitting between Kara and Sam, who were singing along. She’d been outvoted again and now they were watching some ridiculous comedy special where they sang their stand-up. This song seemed to be a long conversation between a man and a woman at a park. Sam and Kara sat enraptured as the man she think was named Jemaine sang:

 

> Oh, I remember exactly what we did at the lookout.
> 
> We just looked... out...
> 
> across the city from our little spot on the hilltop.
> 
> Oh, it was so pretty from way up there.
> 
> We talked about how the lights from the buildings and cars
> 
> seemed like reflections of the stars
> 
> that shone out so pretty and bright,
> 
> that night.

           When Bret (singing as ‘Jenny’) replied, she could feel Kara leaning towards the screen.

 

> “It was day time.”

           Both Sam and Kara sang along when the first guy tried to cover his ass: 

 

> “The day time of the night”

           Alex tried to stay cross, but Kara was so excited. And Sam was laughing so hard she was leaning into Alex’s side, laughing against her neck. And the whole thing was so domestic, that her face started smiling without her permission.

           And the next thing she knew, the show was over and Kara was putting on youtube clips of their other songs. And Sam was pulling her up to dance around to “Leggy Blonde’, spinning Alex under her arm and pulling her close. And to Kara it all looked cute and innocent, but Sam was singing in her ear and pressing her entire body against Alex’s back. And Alex could feel her knees going weak. She could feel Sam’s chest pressing against her back and suddenly, Alex understood why Sam pressed back against her when they danced. She pulled away and kissed Sam gently before going to dance with Kara. Sam’s smile said she knew what the dancing had done to Alex.

           Later, when Kara had snuck off to drunkenly call Lena, Alex and Sam stood side-by-side looking out the window over the city. Alex looked over at the soft smile on Sam’s face, smiling herself before turning back to the window and singing:

                                                                                       “We talked about how lights from the buildings and cars, seemed like reflections of the stars, that shine out so pretty and bright, tonight.”


	10. Rainbows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I write these and think that maybe I put a bit too much of myself into Alex. But I honestly think we would have the same stance on rainbows and pride and shirts with Mean Girls quotes, so...

           How could Alex not own anything rainbow? She’d torn apart her apartment and nothing! She could have sworn she had a t-shirt or bracelet, but that was probably Maggie’s. A lot of things she thought she had were actually Maggie’s; hazard of living together, I guess. But a spur of the moment decision to go to Pride with Kara and Lena and Sam and Ruby, pointed out how hopelessly ill equipped she was. It’s not that she had anything against rainbows, or Pride, she just wasn’t really…proud. Not that she was ashamed to be gay or anything, she just sometimes forgot. Like work got too busy and most of her friends were straight and she just, sort of…forgot. Which is ridiculous. People don’t generally forget something that…big. But, to Alex, it was pretty low down her list of defining attributes. Sister, daughter, DEO agent, bad ass, scientist, friend… there were a dozen things she’d list about herself before she got to her sexuality. She sometimes felt guilty that it wasn’t a bigger part of her life; she saw Kara and Lena and all their work towards positive bisexual representation and thought she ought to be doing something like that. But that wasn’t her and it wasn’t what she was passionate about. So she ended up running late for the parade and without a single rainbow in sight.

           Kara and Lena were already at the parade, getting their float ready. And Sam and Ruby were coming straight from her soccer game. Vas would probably have something, but she’d pulled the short straw and was manning the DEO. Which left Winn…

 

* * *

 

 

           Winn. She was going to kill him. They were walking together in the parade, following Kara and Lena on the float. Which wouldn’t be bad, except for what he was wearing. And what she was wearing. When she had called begging to borrow something gay for pride, she’d know it would be nerdy, but her choices were worse than she’d expected. Wear a shirt with a rainbow flag made out of light sabers or a muscle tank with _that_ Mean Girls quote.

             “Come on Alex! You’ve got killer arms. Sun’s out, guns out! Am I right? Besides, everyone loves Mean Girls!”

           So now, Alex was walking the parade wearing a black muscle tank with the words “almost too gay to function” printed in rainbow across her chest. Winn had talked her into painting a rainbow flag on one arm and the lesbian flag on the other. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she was walking next to the train wreck that was Winn, who was wearing rainbow boy-shorts with a bi flag painted across his chest instead of a shirt. Which hardly counted as clothing, but honestly seemed to be the typical male wardrobe today. She smiled and waved as the parade progressed, but couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Winn every time he stopped to wink at this guy or that or started twerking with people along their route. She was glad he was having so much fun, but it was all a bit out of her comfort zone. Winn and Kara had been talking about the pride after party for weeks, but Alex was hoping to cut out with Sam and Ruby before the party started. Maybe if she left when they did, she’d get less grief. The parade was plenty of gay for one day.

 

* * *

 

 

           Alex did _not_ manage to get out of the party. And now she was stuck trying to get to the bar through a crazy crowded bar, mostly populated by men with _way_ too little clothing.

           “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”

           Alex heard the words before she registered the beer seeping through her shirt.

           “Fuck that’s cold!”

           The girl that had spilled her beer all down Alex’ shirt was apologizing profusely and dabbing at her shirt with a cocktail napkin.

           “Hey. It’s ok. I honestly think I’d be better off just wringing my shirt out.” She gently moved the girl’s hand away from her shirt and tried to wring the beer out. Which did not work as well as she had hoped.

          “You know what? Fuck it.” Alex quickly pulled the tank over her head and used the napkins someone had produced to wipe down her stomach. The girl’s eyes went wide and she squeaked. Alex lifted an eyebrow. “What? The guys in here are almost exclusively in their underwear. It’ll be fine.”

           The girl just kept nodding, her eyes never leaving Alex’s stomach. Alex looked at her, confused for a moment, before saying goodbye and walking away. She must have felt pretty guilty, because she hardly spoke.

 

* * *

 

 

           Alex had gotten six numbers, four dance offers and two drinks in the last half hour. Every time someone new showed up, Kara and Lena just laughed. Alex couldn’t help it that she blushed whenever a pretty girl started talking to her. She politely refused all of them and tried to bury her face behind her beer as Kara and Lena teased her.

           “Damn Danvers! I don’t know why you ever wear a shirt!” Winn had appeared out of nowhere and was now petting her abs. She grabbed his hand and wrenched it off. “Ow! I’m just saying that abs like that should never be hidden.” Alex swatted at him, but he dodged her hand, laughing.

 

           “Excuse me.” Alex turned to face the voice calling from behind her. It was the girl that had spilled the beer. Unlike last time when she was actively staring at Alex’s stomach, this time she was working very hard to only make eye contact. “You dropped your shirt. I know it’s wet, but you probably still want it.”

           “Alex! You almost lost my Mean Girls shirt? How could you?” Winn was even more dramatic than usual. “You, my dear, are my knight in shining armor. You have to hang out with us! I’ll get us more drinks!” And Winn was off again. And Alex was going to kill him. But the girl was offering her hand to Kara, introducing herself as Hannah. And then she was talking something computer-y with Lena and Winn. And she was laughing and cooing over cat videos with Kara. And then the bar was thinning out and Lena and Kara were leaving to go home. And Winn had found a Greek God to take home. And Hannah and Alex were talking about their travel bucket lists, and how many of the places were the same. And Alex was starting to think that maybe the rainbow Mean Girls shirt wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe it was just a little bit lucky. And maybe she’d had to buy Winn a new shirt, because she wasn’t sure she was willing to give this one back.

          

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My rainbow light saber shirt is one of my favorite shirts. Alex just has terrible taste in movies...


	11. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angsty Sanvers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head's up: this is pretty mopey. So if you were looking for fluffy Sanvers...
> 
> It's technically still the 11th here...

          There was one box left. One box Alex couldn't bring herself to go through. She knew what was in it, which should have made it easier, but only seemed to make it worse. She'd been putting off going through the box, but every time she opened the closet, she saw it. Opening that freaking closet was like lifting your arms after getting stitches on your side; it didn't rip you open completely, but it still hurt a hell of a lot. She knew she needed to do it, she needed to open the box, rip the stitches; she was never going to heal if she just kept stretching it out. There was probably a better metaphor, but she'd been drinking and she had stitches that wouldn't heal fast enough. All the time spent doing paperwork, just left her mind time to wander. So she was going to do it - going to go through  _the box_. She wasn't going to let it haunt her anymore.

          This box was supposed to be their honeymoon. They had talked about a beach somewhere with fancy cocktails and cabanas. But neither of them could sit still long enough to enjoy that. So they'd planned to fly to the coast, rent a convertible and road-trip back home. 2,000 km or so, over two weeks. They'd drawn different routes on a map, circling landmarks and cities they wanted to see along the way. There was debate over camping; Winn thought Alex would be the priss that didn't want to get dirty, but she wasn't the one with issues with dirt. She would be happy to walk into the woods with a sleeping bag, a knife or multitool, flint and a rifle. She'd consider a bow or fishing pole, based on where they were going. But Maggie vetoed that quickly. Winn assumed, like most people, that growing up in the Mid-West meant that you liked all the outdoor stuff. It did not. At least not for Maggie. 

          They had figured out pretty quickly that there was no way they could see everything in one trip. So, they started drawing routes in different colors, labeling them things like "National Park trip" or "Historic Cities trip". There was a whole journal devoted to stops along the way, alphabetized because Alex could figure out Maggie's system. Alex knew that when she opened that box, the journal and map would be on top. Underneath would be all the travel guides Alex had found, because she loved researching the stops they were talking about. 

         Maggie had her own style of research. She had taken to reading travel blogs, looking for the best food and drinks in each of the cities on the list. Where Alex looked for the big “must see” locations in the cities, Maggie searched for the little-known gems. Alex wanted to see the art and history of the city and Maggie wanted to see how people lived. Their trip was going to do all of that. Was. Now Maggie’s research haunted her as much as anything. Because now when Alex tried a new food truck or saw a mural she hadn’t seen before, she thought of Maggie. But she also thought of Maggie in all the places they used to go together. 

         In the end, Alex couldn’t do it, couldn’t open the box. She took the coward’s way out and now the box sat in Kara’s linen closet. It wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t haunting her apartment.


	12. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam & Lena. Is BroTP gender neutral?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not watched the last several episodes of Supergirl, so who knows if this is cannon! I really only care about Alex's story line these days, (and no offense to Ruby, but I miss badass Danvers, not babysitter Danvers) so I've been dragging my feet about getting caught up. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, why do these keep getting so deep? My original plan for this had been fun and light, but it got away from me a bit...

         Lena shouldn’t be having this much trouble buying Alex a birthday present. People bought their friends gifts all the time. And she had given gifts before, but none of her usuals seemed right for her. Nothing about Alex screamed, “Buy me cashmere” or “I need a spa day”. She’d be happy to get them, of course, but they weren’t very thoughtful. It’d be a bit like buying candles for your coworkers that you only kind of know. But her and Alex had gotten past acquaintanceship this year; working together on DEO projects and commiserating about girl problems. Most of the thoughtful gifts Lena had considered seemed outlandish. Most friends did not spend thousands of dollars on a birthday present. And after three hours of aimlessly wandering the thrift market, she had exactly zip to show for it. So she had called Sam in a near panic.

         Lena knew that asking Sam for help was dangerous. Alex and Sam had been tiptoeing around each other since they’d separated Reign. Lena wasn’t exactly sure what was happening, but she suspected it had to do with the heart eyes they’d been sending each other prior to Sam being locked up. But weeks apart changed things and neither seemed sure what to do about it. Lena had been treading lightly around both of them for weeks, but it was getting old. And with Alex’s party later this week, it was crunch time; no more kid gloves!

         Sam was awkward and quiet as they walked amongst the stands. They made small talk as they felt the fabric of the sweaters and scarves. Sam hummed along to the music playing out of one of the stands as Lena tried on new sunglasses. She desperately tried to think of a way to break the ice, but kept coming up blank. Then she remembered a conversation they had had not too long ago.

         _“If your best friend can’t rip off the metaphorical band aid, then who can? We’ve been together through more than either of us expected; honesty is mandatory at this point.”_

         “Sam…Can we talk? About Alex?”

         She probably could have timed that a bit better, maybe when Sam wasn’t standing quite so close to a collection of key chains. They scrambled to pick the key chains up off the ground, only to be angrily waved off by the shopkeeper. Sam grabbed her arm and dragged her a bit away from the crowd. Lena expected anger, was read for anger. She was not ready for vulnerable and sad.

         “It’s time to rip the band aid off, Sam. What’s going on with you two? It’s been painfully weird the last few weeks…”

         Sam opened and closed her mouth a few times before she was able to make words come out. “Things feel… different.” She turned away from Lena a bit, but Lena let her. It’s hard to be vulnerable, even with your closest friends. “How do I know if Alex wants me, or if she just wants to be part of Ruby’s life? She played a huge part in Ruby’s life while I was gone and I don’t want to take that away. But how do I know if Alex wants to be with me?”

         Lena had no answer, so she stepped close and wrapped her arms around her friend. After a moment, she spoke. “I think you need to ask her. You need to decide what role in Ruby’s life you are comfortable with Alex having. And ask her what she wants. You’re never going to know unless you talk.” Lena stepped away, pulling Sam back towards the crowd. “You know how hard it is to get the Danvers girls to talk!”

         Sam and Lena walked towards the food booths. “I want Alex in our lives. She’d be an amazing aunt to Ruby, just like you, if she wants to.”

         “But….”

         “But I think… I think she wants more and I… I don’t.”

         “Sounds like you have it figured out then.”

         “Do I? What if I’ve got it wrong, and we’re meant to be a family?”

         “Then it will happen naturally. If you’re meant to be together, you don’t need to force it. Life will find a way to bring you together.”

         Sam’s voice was quiet when she responded. “You really believe that?”

         “I have to. I’ve watched Kara and Mon what ever his name is go back and forth, knowing how wrong they are for each other. I have to believe that if Kara and I are meant to be together, and I feel that we are with every inch of my heart, then I have to believe that Kara and Mr. Tights are temporary. I lose that, then I lose hope.” She took Sam’s hand and looked her in the eyes for the first time since they started walking. “Some times, you just have to have faith.”

         “And if I’m wrong, if she really has feelings for me and I break her heart and Supergirl comes after me?”

         “Then I’ll distract her with as many donuts as I can physically carry!”

         “The world might not see the person you really are, but I know. I know that you’re the best friend a girl could ask for. And I also know what you’re going to get Alex for her birthday.”

 

 

_To be continued…._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me Alex/Sam fans! I think they're a train wreck as a couple. And yes, I know I wrote a fic about them, but there's just soooo much baggage. Probably better off being friends.
> 
> Posts are about to get very sporadic. I had planned on staying true to the days, but I'm having surgery this week, so the posts are going to get all jumbled. If I have time before the surgery, I'll try and post a day or two ahead. But odds are that the posts for 13/6/18-16/6/18 will be posted on the 16th or 17th. Hazard of trying to juggle multiple stories and real life I guess.


	13. Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara, Nate & Amaya go on a quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nate's a dork, but he's not wrong...

           Sara was pacing back and forth across the bridge, obviously distressed.

           "Why does this matter so much?” Nate asked. When Sara didn’t respond, didn’t even look up, he glanced at Amaya. She shook her head in confusion, so he continued on. “Does it have to be green tea ice cream? Why don't you just get cookie dough or something?"

           That caused Sara to stop and level her ‘Scary Captain’ glare at him, the one usually reserved for when he made a huge mistake and she was left cleaning up after him. Her voice was low, slow and just a tad terrifying as she replied, "It has to be green tea.”

           Nate was thankful when she looked away and turned her anger on someone else. “And since Zari accidentally crashed the fabricator trying to 'fix' Gideon, we can't just make it. It’s not like I warned everyone about how _very_ important this day was to me…”

           Amaya, in all her peaceful glory tried to calm the captain down. "So we have...” She stopped to check the readout on Sara’s watch, “2 hours to find the ice cream. Totally do-able."

           This didn’t seem to calm the captain at all; in fact, it set her off on another rant. Nate still wasn’t sure _why_ the ice cream mattered so much, but finding it was starting to feel as urgent as finding the totems had felt only a few months ago.

           "I'm screwed! I was trying to make this special, but now I'm just going to mess it up. Once a Legend, always a Legend right?"

           Amaya, ever the wonder, seemed to know exactly what to do. She wrapped the captain up in a tight hug, whispering to her as she waited for Sara’s body to relax. Nate could only hear snippets of what she was saying.

           “It’s going to be great…she’s not going to care…too much pressure on yourself…she knows…”

           Nate knew he was a sentimental man, wasn’t ashamed of it, but watching their private moment and all the emotions flashing across Sara’s face, he couldn’t help getting a little choked up. He looked away as Sara wiped at her face, wanting to give her a little privacy. Then he interrupted the silence.

           “So. Ava loves green tea ice cream and we’re going to find it for her. Easy as that.” He clapped his hands struck a superhero-like pose. “To the jump ship!”

           Sara looked at him with a look somewhere between confused and outraged, before turning towards Amaya. “You promised you weren’t going to tell him!”

           “I didn’t!”

           Before they had a chance to fight, Nate jumped in. “We all know that I am particularly in-tuned to emotions – “

           “You mean you’re a sentimental sap that cries at chick flicks?” Sara cut in with a bit more malice than Nate hoped she intended.

           “Don’t shame me for acknowledging my emotions and striving to be more than a stereotypical Neanderthal! It’s 20gayteen back home, as _you_ were telling us. It’s high time we stop shaming men for breaking normal gender stereotypes! Telling men they can’t feel or express their emotions is detrimental to their emotional and mental wellbeing and is attributing to many of the issues our society is facing at the current moment!”

           Amaya cut off Nate’s rant. “Honey, maybe now’s not the best time for your dissertation…”

           “Right.” He shook off his rant and went back to where he started. “I was about to say, before I got sidelined by your gender biases, is that I pay attention enough to know that there’s something up with you and Ava. And now you’re freaking out about ice cream and there’s a deadline…it seems pretty clear that you have a date with Ava that some how features said ice cream. I’m hoping you’re just eating it, but I don’t kink shame!”

           Nate’s joke had the desired effect, as Sara afforded a slight smile and gently smacked his arm. He linked one arm through Sara’s and one through Amaya’s and dragged them off, humming music from the Wizard of Oz. The girls laughed, but didn’t try to pull their arms away.

 

* * *

 

 

           All their crazy, frantic searching was worth it, the moment Ava saw the ice cream. Sara had taken her to one of the rooftops she used to frequent back home, and laid out a picnic on a blanket. A beach somewhere might have been more romantic, but Sara wanted to share a bit of herself with Ava. All through dinner, she had told Ava stories about her family and her friends. There wasn’t much that Ava didn’t know about her at this point, but they often dwelled on the dark parts of her past. Sara had used dry ice to keep the ice cream close to solid since Gideon was out of commission (thank you Ray!), so there wasn’t a rush to dessert. But when she finally brought out the ice cream, she watched Ava’s face light up.

           “Green tea? But you hate it!”

           “But you don’t.” Sara was going for smooth, but the blushing ruined that a bit. And she found that she didn’t care. She wanted Ava to know how much she cared, so why bother hiding her sappy tendencies. Ava eagerly took the offered spoon and dove in. Sara tried to steal her nerves enough to give her the second part of the gift. She pulled out a small package wrapped in newspaper. She’d wanted it to be prettier, but had to make do.

           “Happy Anniversary, Aves.” She said quietly. Ava looked up surprised, her spoon halfway to her mouth. Sara chuckled. “It’s not really our anniversary, I guess. Just the anniversary of our first fight.” Ava chuckled and took the package. She studied it for a second, before carefully opening the paper. Sara sighed and rolled her eyes at the care she took. Inside the package was a small journal.

          “You might hate it, but…”

           Ava turned it over in her hands, before opening it and beginning to read. Sara watched her expression change from curious to confused to something close to wonder. She looked up at Sara, with tears in her eyes.

           “You – I – How?”

           “I started with everything I knew from since I’ve met you. Then Zari… bent the rules a little, to get into your file and get a general timeline. Then it was a lot of tracing your steps, interviewing people, semi-legal stuff you probably don’t want to know…”

           “And this is the result?” Ava asked, choosing to ignore the details of how Sara got the information.

           “That’s the result. The story of you. The real you. Not the lies that you had, or the history of the others. You. Everything I could find.”

           Ava had so much to say, but only managed:

           “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the well wishes everyone! I'm still healing up, so it may take me a while to get caught up with my writing, but I'm back and hopefully things will get back to normal soon. I finished the next chapter on my main story, so I should be able to double up a bit on this story and post more than one chapter a day. We'll see.


	14. Best Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zari and Amaya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legends has some of my favorite BroTPs!!
> 
> This is not even slightly romantic, in case that's what you're looking for...

           Zari was suddenly very aware of Amaya’s proximity. They were slowly working their way through the various Oceans movies (saving 8 for last, because duh). Zari thought they were all kind of dumb, but Amaya was fascinated by the slight of hand. Maybe it said something about her that she could see their plan ahead of time; too long on that side of the law probably. But she loved the amazement and wonder on her friend’s face, so she kept her comments to herself.

           She kept her comments to herself, and spent more time watching her friend than the movie. Amaya called her out on it a few times, but Zari didn’t even really know she was doing it, so how could she stop. There was something so…simple about Amaya’s reactions and Zari almost felt the same joy as she saw on Amaya’s face. She had been too alone, too jaded, for too long and she was still learning to let that go.

           As they watched, they shared all the stereotypical movie snacks, set on the table in front of them. Both felt as if they’d missed out on the organic opportunity and were determined to experience it now, even if the opportunity was very artificially created. After most of the snacks were gone, they had slowly relaxed on the couch, groaning every so often of being too full. When Amaya had stretched out on the couch, leaning against her friend, Zari had flinched.

           But Amaya was patient, and Zari quickly remembered how different things were now. Amaya had been doing a lot of this lately – reteaching Zari how to live – pushing her out of her fear and paranoia created habits. Most friends wouldn’t be this patient, wouldn’t understand Zari’s actions and reactions. But Amaya could relate to her loss and the fear that she might keep losing. And so, little by little, Zari let down her guard. When she hesitantly put her arm across Amaya’s shoulder, she felt Amaya relax. They sat like that for the rest of the movie and Zari realized that that had been the most physical contact she’d had in years. In fact, that probably lasted longer than all of the physical contact she’d had in the last 10 years added together.

           “Thank you.” She whispered, hoping Amaya understood.

           “Always, my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first prompt where a story didn't quickly come to mind. I think the problem was that there were too many potential options, but I really didn't want to write a "best friends to lovers" or "I married my best friend" kind of story (not that there's anything wrong with those, I just wanted to keep it exclusively friendship). I almost wrote a Nate/Ray/Wally story, but decided to save that story for later in the month.
> 
> Hope you liked the story! Thanks for all the comments and Kuddos!


	15. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bering & Wells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what this is. But I always thought this would have been a good place to end the story, before Artie messed with time...

           The Truth used to be easy. Things were black or they were white. But Helena brought a lot of grey into her life. Their first meeting left an impression on Myka – had convinced her that she knew The Truth about H.G. Wells. But Helena had spent every day since flipping the truth. Truth was no longer a steadfast answer; it seemed to change with Helena’s mood. Every time Myka thought she had her figured out, she’d do something to completely throw her off.

           Like right now. Myka had known that if anyone could save them, could save The Warehouse, it would be Helena. But she hadn’t expected that to mean self-sacrifice. But why wouldn’t she expect that? Without her daughter, The Warehouse was the only thing she had left. Of course she’d die to protect it. Only, now… the look on Helena’s face made Myka think there was another layer of Truth there below the surface. Because the sadness in Helena’s eyes and the words she was whispering… maybe there was something else she cared about more than The Warehouse; maybe there was family beyond those that she’d lost.

           And Myka had thought that The Truth was that Artie and Pete would never want Helena back, but they had tears in their eyes too. And Pete was fighting to get out of the protective shield. So maybe Myka hadn’t really known that Truth either.

           Maybe the biggest Truth getting flipped on its head today was hers; because she thought she knew how she felt about Helena; thought she at least knew her own Truth. But she could faintly see her reflection in the bubble; faintly see the pain on her own face. She could also see the love on both faces, subtle but there. She knew how to read Helena better than anyone else, but Helena wasn’t hiding it this time. And Helena had always read her like a book, so she knew she didn’t need to say anything – knew she couldn’t say anything. She saw Helena whisper her love, but could only manage a nod through the tears. She saw as Helena smelled apples, received The Warehouse’s rarely given thanks. Saw as Helena turned towards the sky. Then there was nothing left to see.

           And Myka wasn’t sure what The Truth was anymore.


	16. Parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super Friends, post-Pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued from Chapter 10: Rainbows
> 
> Also, haven't seen the finale, so who knows if this is cannon. Sorry, but I'm behind.

           “So what do we all remember about Pride?” Kara was far too excited for 8 am the day after Pride. The Super Friends were all sitting in a booth at a little diner they liked to frequent (no one questioned how much food they ordered, so naturally, it was one of Kara & Sam’s favorites). Some of the group was feeling the effects of the previous day more than others.

           “Well, there was the parade.” Lena turned to look at Kara. “We were on the Catco float wearing the ‘bi-sexy’ shirts you made us…”

           Alex cut in. “And I was wearing that God-awful Mean Girls shirt because _someone_ had to get to Pride ridiculously early and wasn’t there to help me get ready.”

           “Which led you to meet Hannah so hush,” Winn whispered with a hand wave. She smacked his hand away, causing him to chuckle. He immediately regretted the laughter when it jarred his severely hungover head.

           “What happened with you yesterday, Winn?” Kara asked with a smirk to Lena.

           “Um… remember dancing a lot. And found quite a few phone numbers shoved in my… shorts. Men and women, so the body paint was definitely worth it.”

           “So we’re just pretending that Fabio didn’t take you home…” Winn clutched his chest and turned towards Lena. “Et tu?” Lena laughed and buried her face in Kara’s neck. Winn continued, “I saw the looks you guys sent each other before Kara suddenly had to use the restroom and you _needed_ another drink – “

           Kara interrupted Winn before he could continue, but not before Alex realized what he was implying. He snorted as he laughed at the matching blushes on all three women’s cheeks. Sam and Ruby chose that time to walk up to the table.

           “What’s so funny?” Ruby asked, causing another fit of laughter out of Winn. Alex was slightly more successful at hiding her laughter, but only because she hid behind a menu. Kara sputtered and blushed more than possible as Lena glared at Winn, before addressing Ruby. “We were just talking about Pride.”

           Sam and Ruby sat down in the vacant seats and quickly picked up menus. Sam turned to Winn and whispered, “You’ll fill me in later, right?”

           “Absolutely.” He said with a mischievous grin, that fell when she added, “I want to hear about Fabio too. Lena is terrible at typing when drunk, but I saw the photo…” She trailed off and a blush slowly spread up his neck.

           Ruby and the girls had been talking breakfast choices and didn’t notice Sam and Winn’s conversation. It was decided that they would order a stack of every type of pancakes on the menu and everyone could have a little bit of whichever they wanted (it was implied that Kara and Sam would eat anything left over).

           Once food had been ordered, the conversation returned to the previous day. “What did you think of your first Pride, Ruby?” Alex asked.

           Ruby paused and seemed to consider her answer. “People really like colors and glitter…”

           The whole group cracked up as Alex replied, “You’re right. But Pride is all about celebrating.”

           Sam quickly pulled out her phone. “Did you guys see the picture of Ruby with her poster? She made her own sign for the Parade.” The group had all seen Ruby, but they hadn’t been able to see or read the poster. Sam quickly pulled up the photo and put the phone on the table. Ruby bashfully hid her face in her mom’s side as they read the poster. She had very neatly printed “I love my big Queer family!” in magic marker. She had then drawn rainbows over most of the blank surface. She’d added the bisexual and the non-binary flag in opposite corners, with a big rainbow L in the third and ‘Ally’ written in bright blue in the fourth. The group was quiet for a moment before the sniffles started. Alex smacked Winn, who was openly crying at this point, before softening and pulling him into a hug. Kara kissed the top of Lena’s head as Lena wiped the tears from her eyes.

           Alex put her arm around Ruby and whispered, “You’re the best Ally we could ask for.” Ruby leaned into Alex’s hug as her mom nodded and kissed Ruby’s hand. The whole group was a blubbering mess, laughing and joking around the table. The noise only increased when the pancakes arrived.

           Sam looked around the table, meeting Lena’s eyes and quietly saying, “I love my big Queer family, too!”


	17. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WayHaught bittersweet fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not super satisfied with this, but at this point, I think I might actually be making this worse. So I'm going to post this and hope for the best.

         Nicole was in over her head at this thing. She couldn’t even remember who was getting married! But Purgatory was a small town. So of course Waverly knew the bride. And the groom. And his sister. And the maid of honor. And… Everyone. Waverly knew everyone and so Nicole was here. She had originally picked out an emerald green dress that she thought matched her eyes. She was keeping it a secret to surprise her girl friend. And then Waverly had seen an old picture of her dressed up for Halloween and her plan had changed.

         Now she was standing near the edge of the room, feeling slightly awkward in her chosen outfit. She was wearing dark grey dress pants, a silky black button up and a deep maroon vest that matched the little details on Waverly’s dress. She hadn’t bothered with a tie, but had added the suspenders and Stetson at the last moment. It had been worth it when she went to pick up Waverly and Gus. Waverly’s jaw had dropped and her eyes lit up when she saw Nicole standing just inside the door, hat in hand. Gus had told her she cleaned up nice as she headed to the car. Waverly managed a “wow!” before kissing Nicole fiercely.

         Nicole had only managed to dance with Waverly once before she was pulled away by some friend or other and Nicole was left to nurse her drink alone. The music changed to a slow song and Nicole put her glass down, determined to grab at least one more dance with Waverly before the reception ended.

         “Alright, alright! It’s time for the Mother-Son dance! So sons, grab your mom and tell her you love her!”

         Nicole sighed as she watched sons (and son-in-laws) lead their moms to the dance floor. She was ready to go grab another drink when she noticed the last of Gus’ friends being pulled away from the table. She walked away from the bar.

        

         As soon as Nicole got to the table, her nerves left her. “Um. Gus?”

         Gus looked up at her expectantly and Nicole froze. She knew Gus was the closest thing Waverly had to a mom growing up and she felt herself being overwhelmed with emotion. She cleared her throat and tried again.

         “I know I’m not your son and I’m not your son-in-law, and I know Waverly isn’t your biological daughter, but you’re the closest thing she has to a mom, and…” He voice cracked again and she paused to collect herself. “It would mean a lot to me if you’d give me the honor or having this dance.” She held her hand out to the older woman and prayed that she didn’t just fuck it all up.

         Gus hesitated before whispering, “It’d be my honor.”

 

* * *

 

 

         Waverly glanced around the room, looking for Nicole. She’d last seen her by the bar, but she wasn’t there any more. She knew she was being a shitty girlfriend, she kept leaving Nicole alone, but she’d make it up to her later. She scanned the room, becoming more puzzled, until Chrissy nudged her and pointed to the dance floor. It was obviously the traditional Mother-Son dance, with one difference: fiery red hair next to grey. Nicole was dancing with Gus. All the moms were on the dance floor with their sons or son-in-laws, except Gus and Nicole. Waverly felt her eyes well up. She couldn’t tell what they were saying, but she knew that look on Gus’ face; she didn’t often get sentimental, but Waverly would know that look anywhere. Chrissy had pointed them out to the rest of the group. Waverly wasn’t sure exactly what was said (she was lost in the moment). “So cute…I wish my boyfriend would do that…keeper…Gus looks so happy…jealous…”

 

* * *

 

 

         Nicole held Gus’ hand as she escorted her off the dance floor. They met up with the women from her table and their sons and there were introductions all around. Waverly slid up next to Nicole and leaned into her side. She looked up and Nicole wrapped her arm around her shoulders. Brown eyes met with overwhelming warmth and the two were oblivious to the way everyone was looking at them. They turned back to a beaming Gus and her swooning friends, trying to pay attention to the conversation.

         When the music changed from fast, back to slow, Nicole gently pulled Waverly to the dance floor. She pulled Waverly in close and tried to savor every moment. Half way through the song, Waverly spoke.

         “What did you say to Gus?”

         “I told her I wasn’t a man but she wasn’t really your mom so it ought to be ok.”

         “You didn’t!” Waverly exclaimed with wide eyes. Nicole could only keep the facade for a moment before she started laughing. Waverly gently smacked her arm before settling back into her chest. They dance for a moment longer before Nicole quietly said,

         “I thanked her for raising you after everyone else had left; for loving you even though she didn’t have to; and for welcoming me into the family without a second thought.”

         They danced in silence until the end of the song. When Waverly pulled away, she said, “We both have mothers, but Gus is the only one who has chosen to be here, to stay. What does that say about us?”

         Nicole looked at Gus giving Wynonna a hard time. She looked gruff, but Nicole (and Wynonna) knew there was love there. Gus looked up at them and nodded once.

         “I’d say, we’re pretty lucky…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Gus! I know Gus wasn't always the greatest to Wynonna, but she did come around after that scene in the bar. She's so perceptive and supportive to our little baby gay (bi? pansexual?) that you have to love her just a little.


	18. Shapes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can find the Pride and Prejudice quote! Also, sorry I'm so behind. I'm trying to catch up, but I'm having so much fun writing my WayHaught story that I keep procrastinating this. Expect the next few chapters to be on the shorter side. Maybe some day I'll spend some more time developing these into longer stories, but for now, they're meant to be short and sweet.

               Ava really needed to move. She’d been awake for over an hour, but she was stuck in bed. She’d tried to slip out from under Sara, but sleepy Sara just went full koala mode; she now had her head tucked into Ava’s neck, one hand death-gripping Ava’s shirt and a leg thrown over Ava’s thighs. Ava had wanted to extract herself out from under Sara, but she just looked so…cute. And peaceful. And Ava couldn’t bring herself to wake Sara up from the rare moment of peaceful sleep she got.

               So she was lying here, stuck under Sara and completely unable to sleep. Ava was not particularly good at idle; she had already run through the entire Time Bureau agent procedural and was still awake. She had now resorted to staring at the ceiling. It only took her 5 seconds to realize that the ceiling was textured and another 10 or so to start seeing shapes in that texture. It was like that old song: something about making friends with shadows on the wall or something. 90’s music all kind of blurs together anyways. But Ava was starting to see more and more elaborate images on the ceiling. What had originally looked like a squiggly blob right above her now vaguely looked like the time Nate tried to make his own pizza crust. And just to the left, there was a connected series of blobs that looked a bit like Pirate Amaya. She had to admit that that had been pretty badass.

               After the 6th or 7th blob on the ceiling reminded her of some Legend or other, and not of their horrible mistakes, Ava was forced to admit something. She was becoming quite fond of this hot mess of a team. She’d blame it on her feelings for Sara, but really, they’d all wormed their way into her heart at some point. Which was really rather unfortunate seeing as she’d sworn to loathe them for eternity.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The slight bastardization of Jane Austin: "Which was really rather unfortunate seeing as she’d sworn to loathe them for eternity." Might have read that book for the millionth time while I was recovering. Still one of my favorites.
> 
> Also, the song:
> 
> [I'm Not Crazy - Matchbox 20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDCUnLM6UUc)


	19. Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from Chapter 12: Lena works on Alex's birthday gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will still make sense if you haven't read chapter 12 (or don't remember what happened), but I'll recap just incase:
> 
> Lena and Alex have become good friends since Lena's induction into the Super Friends. Alex's birthday is coming up and Lena is struggling to come up with a good gift. Alex isn't the kind of person you can buy an expensive scarf for and move on; she's not big on people spending money on her and she probably wouldn't have an occasion to wear it anyways. This leaves Lena at a loss for what to get her, so she begs Sam for help. Sam has an idea, but it's not what Lena expected.

          When Sam said she knew what Lena was going to get Alex, she imagined she’d be at some store or other, not in her lab. But Sam had put an idea in her head and now she was a woman on a mission. According to Sam, Alex’s apartment was currently very bare. Alex and Kara had gone through the apartment and removed everything that reminded her of Maggie. What was left was a lot of empty. Alex was slowly letting Kara and Ruby fill up the empty spaces, but there wasn’t much of anything left on the walls.

          Lena’s gift was two fold and she was lucky she was still on good terms with James, even after they broke it off. She’d put him on an important mission to find very specific photos and print them: a group photo from game night; one of Alex and Kara; Alex, Ruby and Sam; Winn; James; Lena; J’onn and his dad; her parents, or at least her mom; Vasquez; and whatever good memories (sans Maggie) he could find. She was going to have them framed in a dark wood that matched her furniture. Kara had already agreed to help sneak her and Sam into Alex’s apartment so they could hang them.

          But the big piece needed to be something special. Lena wasn’t horribly artistic, but she did like to sketch, something she’d done a lot as a child to pass her solitary time. She’d broken out her art supplies again and after a dozen tries, she had finally gotten it right. It was a quadrant with a different image in each: a sketch of the skyline from the DEO headquarters; a sketch of the beach from Alex’s hometown; a sketch of Alex and her dad sitting on a surfboard on the ocean; and a sketch of the Super Friends at their Christmas/Chanukah party last year. Kara had been kind enough to provide pictures for her to sketch from, and Lena had stared at them for so long, trying to get them just right, that she could see them when she closed her eyes.

          She’d had an artist help her etch her final sketch on a thin piece of carbon steel, which was what brought her to her lab. She was currently using phosphorescent minerals to trace the edges of the images. Each quadrant had a different color theme, and Lena was proud of how well her plan was working. The frame she’d made had small, built-in black lights that would allow the color to shine. In all, she was proud of her work and she knew Alex was one of the few who’d truly appreciate the science behind the work. It was tedious and slow, but Lena was determined; she’d finish it, no matter how long it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be continued in another chapter. I love Lena/Alex as friends! They seem like they'd understand each other's drama and have a lot of nerdy interests in common.


	20. Wilderness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bisexual trio fall victim to muscles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the show is to be believed, none of them are actually bi. I say phooey! I stand by this situation totally happening at some point.

               ‘Go camping’ they said! ‘It’ll be fun’ they said! James had even made a passionate speech about enjoying the wilderness and ‘communing with their ancestors’. Winn was 99% sure that his ancestors hadn’t enjoyed the wilderness either. They’d probably been the ones hiding in the cave at night, trying new ways to make weapons and hoping that someone would hunt for them if they gave them the weapons.

               Winn was comfortable enough in his masculinity to admit that he didn’t enjoy the outdoors. Sure he had a dirt collection, but everyone had their quirks. And besides, just because he collected dirt from different places in tiny vials (which is where dirt belonged if you asked him) didn’t mean he wanted to spend time in it. The problem was, that James had started talking about how exciting it would be and he got caught up. That happened a lot when James started talking. According to Alex, James and Kara were the only ones that hadn’t caught on to his little crush. Which, of course, made sense, because heteronormativity and all that. And Kara was always the last to know, including her own feels for Lena. Everyone had called that months before she figured it out. Everyone except James. Heteronormativity or cluelessness? Winn couldn’t be sure.

               No one was surprised when Alex and Lucy immediately took over setting up camp. Kara was meeting them later and it was pretty obvious that Winn, Lena, Sam and Ruby had never been camping before. James was on fire duty, because he had called dibs on the ax and everyone else had been fine with that. Alex and Lucy had two tents set up before Winn had finished unloading the rest of the gear. They put Sam and Ruby in charge of setting up sleeping bags and air mattresses and Winn was put in charge of moving everyone’s stuff to the correct tents. Lena had put herself in charge of making sandwiches for lunch and when Winn had finished, he found himself drifting over to help. They found themselves talking about this and that while they worked, and Winn felt himself relaxing. That was, until James came back.

               Alex, being the only one who exclusively like ladies, was the only one that didn’t seem distracted by his entrance. Somewhere along the way, he had pulled off his flannel and wrapped it around his waist. He was sweating from the hard work and Winn felt himself lost in the shine on his muscles. Alex smacked him and told him to wipe his drool. He blushed and quickly went back to his work.

               “Don’t worry, I got lost in the muscles too.”

               He looked up at Lena who winked at him. Sam walked over, talking in a hushed tone. “Anyone else suddenly a little warm?” She wiggled her eyebrows and Winn chuckled and blushed some more. “Some times I _really_ love being bisexual.” She continued.

               “Amen.” Lena said and she glanced at James again. He still had his shirt off, but now was using the ax to chop the logs he had carried into smaller pieces. He was sweaty and glowing and grunting and Winn had started fanning himself at some point. Lena whistled quietly and they all laughed. Maybe the wilderness wasn’t so bad…


	21. Language

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie, pre-Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm so behind guys! I'm trying to catch up, but it's crazy around here! And I lost two days of writing to Pride weekend, which was honestly worth it, because Kehlani and Hayley Kiyoko in one place...

Maggie was lonely when she walked into the bar. She was lonely and ready to make bad decisions, preferably involving alcohol. Or girls. Or both. She’d followed someone in off the street, only to find herself somewhere decidedly not Kansas. She’d been to Kansas once and it was actually worse than Nebraska. She completely understood why Dorothy wanted to leave.

The bartender was pretty, with high cheekbones and the kind of effortlessly messy bun that always made Maggie weak. The baggy flannel over a tight tank top made her think she might have a chance.

“Hey there. Can I just get a whiskey? Neat. Actually, make that a double, it’s been a long week.”

 

The man sitting next to her finally took pity on them both and ordered Maggie’s drink in something decidedly not-English. Maggie stared over at him with a confused look, but he kept his head forward and took a long drink from his beer. Maggie couldn’t figure out what was off about him, but she got a strange vibe. She turned back to the bartender when she heard the telltale sound of a heavy glass hitting a wooden table. She hardly looked at Maggie before she was off to help another customer. Maggie turned to the man next to her.

“Does she speak English?”

He sighed, but didn’t say anything. She lifted her eyebrows and gave him one of her best detective looks. He didn’t turn his head, but he did reply: “No.”

“So what language does she speak?”

“Many.”

Maggie was confused. “What?” But he didn’t respond. She looked at him a little longer before sighing and turning back to her drink. She fiddled with the rim as her eyes wandered the bar. There was something off about this place, but she couldn’t figure out what. Maybe if she hadn’t already been a couple of drinks in…

 

Maggie had figured it out. Right about the time she won her second game of pool against the guys she’d just met, she’d figured it out. Because one of the guys had actually blown smoke out of his nostrils. His buddy had tried to smack him before Maggie saw it, but she wasn’t drunk enough to miss that. She looked at them for a second, slightly puzzled, before she challenged them to another round. While she was racking up the balls, she swore she heard “now she knows we’re aliens.” Which really, only just confirmed what she’d already suspected. And human or alien, she’d still take your money.

 

She was drunk by the time she actually talked to Darla. Because that was her name – the pretty bartender. According to her new friends, she was a Roltikkon, which was something she’d never heard before. Also, she was fairly certain that you weren’t supposed to out someone’s Alien Orientation like that…

“You’re pretty and we should make out so you can learn English. It’s kind of hard to flirt when you can’t understand my best lines!”

She heard the guys behind her snickering, but they were as drunk as she was, so who were they to judge? One of them said something to Darla, but Maggie couldn’t understand. But whatever it was, it made her laugh and smile her pretty smile, so Maggie smiled. Suddenly, Darla was leaning over the bar and running her thumb across Maggie’s cheek. She kissed Maggie, briefly running her tongue between Maggie’s surprised lips.

“Maybe when you’re sober,” she said as she walked away. The guy next to her at the bar, the same guy she couldn’t get two words out of earlier, threw his head back and laughed. Maggie just stood there, confused and staring after Darla. Her new friends were laughing too and Maggie found it infectious.

“So she can speak English now? Just like that?” This caused a new round of laughter. Beefcake next to her was kind enough to explain. “It takes more than that to learn an entire language.”

Maggie smirked and leaned her back against the bar. She looked over at where Darla was helping another customer. When Darla caught her staring, she didn’t look away; she just smiled.

“Good thing I’m a good teacher.”


	22. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SuperFriends...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Pride Month is over, but I’m determined to finish this. It’ll still be a while, but if you’ll stick it out, we’ll get to the end together.
> 
>  
> 
> This story is a little dark, so if dealing with an injured character in ICU is too much for you, skip this chapter. I got choked up writing this, which never happens…
> 
>  

               Alex was standing outside the glass; they wouldn’t let her in. She knew the most about Kryptonians, but they wouldn’t let her in because they were family. So Alex was waiting outside the glass while they were frantically trying to save her sister. She had her hand against the glass as they fired up the yellow sun lights, positioning Kara so that the light hit as much skin as possible.

              Alex felt helpless; more helpless than she’d felt in a long time. But J’onn was here now and so was Winn. They were all standing together, staring into the small room where people were frantically moving around, trying to save their friend – their hero. Winn leaned into her and she didn’t fight it, she just threw her arm over his shoulder. She could feel his body heaving and knew he had to be crying, but her own tears wouldn’t come. J’onn moved so he was standing behind them, making room for people to go in and out of the room. He put one hand on her shoulder and one on Winn’s.

               Lena arrived next. J’onn moved to stand beside Winn and Lena made her way to the glass. Her hand mimicked Alex’s as she held it flat against the glass. She was still for a moment – tears running down her face – until violent sobs shook her body. Winn leaned his head up as Alex pulled her into her body. Alex found herself sandwiched between two friends that she never hugged. Any other time and she would have fought to get away, slapping Winn upside the head. But right now? Right now, their presence was comforting.

               They stood like that for hours. Their positions change occasionally, someone moving this way or that. But they stayed connected the whole while. More people gathered, but they stood behind the three. If any of them had dared to look away, they would have seen the ever growing wall of agents behind them. It didn’t take long for word to spread and people that weren’t even on shift had found their way outside her room. J’onn and Vasquez were the only two to make their presence known. They stood just behind the three, not daring to get any closer, but wanting them to know they were there.

               When the doctors stilled and looked at the glass, Lena collapsed. Alex could barely hold herself up – there was no way she could support another. She found herself running into the room. No one dared to get in her way or try to keep her out. Winn slowly fell to his knees; didn’t seem to register anything or anyone around him. Lena was gripping Vasquez like she was afraid she’d fall if she let go. J’onn was ordering the agents away; telling them to move to the main floor and give her family some privacy.

               Alex wouldn’t accept the truth until she checked herself. She checked all the monitors, grilled the doctors about what they had tried and put her fingers at her neck, desperately checking for a pulse. When everything seemed to be telling her the same thing, she froze.

“We’ve called Clark. Maybe he…”

               Alex wanted to believe, but couldn’t. She always thought Kara would outlast them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this got dark quickly! Sorry friends, but it’s what popped in my head and I went with it.


End file.
